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Comment by wallflower | Hacker News Reader

Having struggled with video autofocus issues, I've asked some videographer friends what the solution is. They've told me that I have to learn to manually focus for shots that the autofocus has trouble with. Also, most, if not all, cinematographers do not use autofocus when shooting movies or films.

I have a newfound respect for the 1st AC (or Focus Puller) on a movie set.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focus_puller

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That’s really what blocking is all about. You set places for the camera and talent to be (set distance) and the focus should be set accordingly. If people are moving (or camera is moving) you simply pull the focus from one block to the next (like key frames).

There are cases where the AC needs to manually (with eyes) focus, and yeah, those are very skilled individuals. I was looking for a video of Chivo’s Focus guy working while Chico worked the frame from the Revenant, but I can’t find it.

https://youtu.be/a5tgTQXr62M

Another trick is, in chaotic handheld tracking shots, to light up the set and stop the lens down for a large depth of field. If you watch the long scenes in Children of Men for instance, even objects far away are sharp; this is because lens is stopped down. That way the subjects stay in focus even if the blocking is not terribly precise. In those long shots, Cuaron uses framing and contrast to direct your eye, rather than focus pulls. He creates depth with haze, which reduces contrast in distant objects.

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